Race report
Here’s the general classification
1. Yates - 61h 19’ 51”
2. Dumoulin - 1’ 24”
3. Pozzovivo - 1’ 37”
4. Pinot - 1’ 46”
5. Froome 3’ 10”
Chris Froome, kicked out of the Giro in 2010 for hitching a ride on a police motorbike, has enjoyed his best ever ride in this race. Sounds like Team Sky have not written this off just yet.
Updated
Pinot lost 42 seconds, which could have been worse, considering he was never one of the main players as that final climb took shape.
Great ride from Domenico Pozzovivo, who fought back well.
📌 Stage 14
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 19, 2018
🗺 San Vito al Tagliamento ➡ Monte Zoncolan
1) @chrisfroome
2) @SimonYatess
3) @pozzovivod #Giro101 #Giro
Froome celebrated that like it was one of his greatest triumphs. There is a week to go, and he is not completely out of this, though winning the Giro from here *would* be his greatest moment.
Paul Griffin emails in.
Yates looks insanely comfortable: the face of a man in a deckchair, deliberating over a second cup of Earl Grey. Absolutely ridiculous.
And Yates showed his mettle and form by almost taking the stage. He gets six probably vital seconds of bonus for finishing second in the stage. Dumoulins, though, is still very much in this, with a trademark gritty ride. He only lost 31 seconds on the leader.
Updated
That’s been one hell of a race, living up to its billing. Froome, despite all his woes, has written himself into history with that win on one of the toughest climbs in cycling.
Fabio Aru is over the line, but lost 2’ 26”. That’s the host’s best chance gone..
Pinot goes over the line and looks to have lost over a minute.
Now for the clock, Dumoulin finishes fifth and will only lose 30 seconds on Yates.
Updated
Chris Froome wins!
Froome leading into the last 200m. Yates cannot get there.
Updated
Froome takes one of those vicious hairpins. The rain coming down with Yates on his tail.
Yates now closing on Froome. This could be a photo finish....
Dumoulin under the “one km to go” sign. He’s had a decent day, and might be happy that Yates has not made up too much time.
Updated
Has Froome bonked? He’s into the first of three tunnels.
The tunnel approaches for Froome, with one kilometre to go. But Yates is gaining.
Froome is still out in front, and has shown he has fight left in him, a consolation when his dream of adding the Giro to Le Tour and the Vuelta is looking doomed.
As it stands, Yates is going to take 25 seconds out of his chasers.
Under 2.5km to go. Dumoulin and Pinot, Yates’ challengers are grouped together.
Updated
Yates is gaining...tremendous ride from him. Froome threw the kitchen sink at it, but does he have anything left in the tank?
Updated
Now Yates has a go, and he has blown Lopez and Pozzovivo away. Froome looks to be slowing but the gap is still at 11 seconds. Meanwhile, Yates has got 20 seconds on Dumoulin, which he would have targeted at the start of the day. The time trial on Tuesday has to be borne in mind.
Updated
Froome is 11 seconds clear on Yates, who nevertheless looks cool. Froome needs to take minutes, not seconds off him. He kicks again, bathed in sweat.
Updated
Lopez and Pozzovivo look to be pacing Yates up the hill. Froome is almost over the worst of the hill. Yates won’t want him to get too far clear but, barring disaster, the pink jersey will be his.
Updated
And Froome is clear! The road is open for him to win this. Behind him, Pozzovivo and Yates, who can content himself that Dumoulin is falling back.
Updated
Froome attacks! He’s got three minutes to make up. And Yates has dropped back.
Chris Froome takes evasive action to shove a fan dressed as a dinosaur to the side of the road. It’s a cramped road, and people playing the fool are not welcome.
We are under 5km now. Yates is strong, and sitting off Froome’s shoulder.
Yates looked back to see where Dumoulin was, only to see his rival is still hanging on.
Updated
The Sky Train is in session now. A familiar sight, maybe, but not one that has been in evidence in Italy this year. Poels and Froome are strong but Yates is in their slipstream. Michael Woods’ attempt for glory looks to have failed.
The final, deadly five kilometres are approaching. Most of the favourites are in touch, with Pinot accompanied by a teammate. Aru’s chance has gone, it seems.
Woods has a little daylight. Froome now looking in better nick and has moved up a bit. Yates is looking comfortable. And Aru has been dropped.
Dumoulin struggling? Poels is still setting the pace. Woods has not been allowed to get away. Fabio Aru is out of the saddle as the race slips away from him.
Updated
Michael Woods, the Canadian with EF Education First–Drapac, with an attack off the front. He’s in a pink jersey, though not the important one.
Dumoulin is in deep in the pack, riding defensively as expected. Froome is ahead of him, while Yates is sat in an OK position.
Updated
Conti is caught by Anton at the front, but the peloton is now within 15 seconds. Wout Poels has been attempting to lead the group but Froome doesn’t look in the form to take advantage of his teammates’ work.
Updated
The road is flanked by heavy woodland meaning that the various bends are a real problem to negotiate and to catch sight of rivals. Rohan Dennis, previously in seventh, has been dropped. He has lost weight to get better at climbing, but it’s been too much.
This road is narrowing, and this is the easy part. Gruelling stuff and far worse to come.
Conti is hanging on grimly at the front. But he is now below 30 seconds ahead.
We are under 9km already, and Simon Yates is looking good. Chris Froome way down the group. He looks a bit ragged, but that is no guide, considering the style that has brought him such success.
Here’s where it begins. The peloton has caught up with all but the first two of the former breakaway. Igor Anton, a former winner of this stage, has kicked for victory early. Very early.
Here comes the Zoncolan....
The leading pair are heading through the gates.
Updated
There are just 11km to go, but the real story will be written over the next hour or so. Talk of the start of the hill being known as the “gates to Hell”.
Updated
From the top of the mountain, Ray tells me that the “cowbells are ringing here now”. The final descent is in place, just as calm and collected as the previous climb. The breakaway down to two men, Conte and Barbin. Their glory is done for now, though at least they will reach the Zoncolan first.
Updated
Conti takes the points at the penultimate peak. Now for the Zoncolan.....
Yates has three men alongside him in the dwindling peleton, including the experience of Roman Kreuziger.
The leading group, their lead down to 1’10” are trying to gain those points. Valerio Conti is going for them, but this looks a last hurrah for the escapees.
Here’s where the wildcat attacks start. There are mountain classification points to fight for. Yates leads that as well, and Chaves, out the back, has been looking after the jersey for him, won’t be collecting any points.
Updated
A TV shot of the Monte Zoncolan shows the tifosi are dressed in sensible kagouls and with umbrellas at the ready.
That breakaway group is down to 2’00” and dropping. Sunweb are pushing things along with Tom Dumoulin looking quite calm under his shades. Mitchelton-Scott have the front of the group, with Yates also staying cool.
Live Fitba alert here. Barry Glendenning is beavering away on this one.
Ok, we are at the bottom of the valley now. The Maglia Rosa group is small. This is where the fun begins. Just under 30km to go and it gets tougher all the way.
Meanwhile, from the Monte Zoncolan itself, Ray Murphy, awaiting that final climb, has been in touch via Twitter (My DMs are open).
Pissed rain earlier . Nice and sunny now .. crowds massive all the way up .. people camped everywhere overnight .. bbq making me hungry .. wonderful atmosphere.. great anticipation. Tremendous colour.
If that descent has been a little safety first, Guardian reader Dr Joe Street has emailed in a classic of the genre, Big Fabio Cancellara showing us how it’s done. It’s from Le Tour, but same rules apply.
With 36km to go, the five-man break is 3’30” or so clear of the peleton. Their holding on until the end looks unlikely at best.
Here goes the descent for the peloton, the last long one of the day. Yates keeps himself out of trouble, and the twists and turns begin. At first, nobody is going full bore. The hairpins remind of Michael Caine and the Italian job.
Updated
The leading group, now down to five men, and their lead dropping down to four minutes, have just gone over the summit.
The light blue colours of Tom Dumoulin’s team, Sunweb, are the front of the pack at the moment. Mitchelton-Scott are involved, too, with Yates to the forefront but key man Esteban Chaves will not be helping out; he’s dropped off. Whither the Sky Train and Froome?
The peleton have left the town of Paularo to take the climb up Passo Duron. It’s a short, sharp shock before the real pain begins. There are cowbells from the side of the road, the sign of a good mountain stage.
Updated
Mads Pedersen didn’t much like the 18% gradient in the penultimate climb and has dropped off the breakaway group. He’s not exactly built for the hills, the Danish champion.
Here’s Yates’ main man.
Svein Tuft working so hard at the front of the peloton for @MitcheltonSCOTT. The Canadian takes up a large part of the workload again & controls the field.
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 19, 2018
Effort approaching KM90:
⏱️ Time: 22’51”
⏩ Power: 345W
It's Svein's World, we just live in it! 🇨🇦#FeeltheBurn pic.twitter.com/ZBfUhdhnsz
An intermediate sprint for those in the breakaway group. Nobody looks too bothered about this one. They are easing towards the line and roll over together. They are heading through a small town centre as the next climb begins.
Updated
Gentle reminder to sign up for the Recap.
Updated
The road looks a little soggy at the moment, with just over 50km to go, and the gap at the front has gone out to 6’20”, which is a considerable leap to make. However, those final climbs look likely to drag people back.
Liam Rooney emails in.
Hi John
Delighted that the Guardian has chosen to KMBKM todays stage. As it would happen I am on a train to Dundalk and have just passed the car park in Skerries I got to marshal for the 2014 Giro. Great day
Glad you could join us, Liam. The rest of you, feel free to email in. Keep it legal.
Simon Yates currently looking serene in the pack and chatting to fellow riders. He’s had two stage wins so far and looks relaxed. This stage, and tomorrow’s, Tolmezzo to Sappada, are a chance to add more time on Dumoulin, who is a superior time-trialler.
Updated
A relatively flat spot ahead of the third climb of the day. The breakaway group has gone of 5’35” and look pretty lively. Long road ahead to hang on, but the peleton has been idling a little. The feed station made the difference to the times. A second category climb awaits. After that a third category and then the big one.
Through the feed zone, and almost a minute has dropped off the breakaway group, which Pedersen has been able to rejoin.
The second descent, and Chris Froome is at the head of the descending peloton. In this leading group, Francesco Gavazzi nearly came a cropper but lived to tell the tale. There’s just over 70km to go now.
Updated
What’s it like to be a member of the tifosi on the Monte Zoncolan? Here’s some great GoPro footage.
This is Yates’ eighth day in pink, a record for a Brit.
Here’s Richard Williams writing this week.
Back in the peloton, Yates’ team are still at the front, with their leading man well covered up. How long his allies last will be key to success later on.
Updated
Now on to the second climb of the day and the peleton is out of the saddle, big rings being opted for. The break is just under five minutes ahead and is dwindling, with Mads Pedersen dropping off the back.
For the cycling historians among you, the first ever time this mountain stage was included, 2003, was the last time we were treated to the sight of Marco Pantani competing on a mountain stage, but he lost out to Gilberto Simoni, who ended up winning that year’s GC.
All a bit of a phoney war at the moment, but Svein Tuft, the veteran, is back at the front of the peloton, controlling things for Mitchelton–Scott. Not bad for a 41-year-old.
Updated
A descending point of the race. Dropping down to the next classified climb, the second of five.
Updated
We are in the foot-hills at this point but the peleton is already notably small, not much more than double a breakaway. The sprinters etc already sat at the back, trying to avoid the broom wagon and stay within the time limit.
The Giro organisers are giving the hype on this climb some big licks. Here’s Bertie Contador, winner in 2008 and 2015.
"It might just be the hardest climb in the world". Don’t miss the exclusive interview about Zoncolan climb with @albertocontador | "Potrebbe essere la salita più dura del mondo". Non perdere l’intervista esclusiva di @albertocontador sul Monte Zoncolan #Giro101 #Giro pic.twitter.com/re7vqHbCq3
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 19, 2018
Up on Monte Zoncolan, there are spots of rain. Thunder storms have been predicted, which adds another unwanted variable, especially on those descents. Bad news for Pinot, potentially.
Ok, the stage has just under 100 fateful kilometres to go, and there is a breakaway. The gap is 4’35”, with seven riders clear of the peloton, including Yates’ pink jersey. Matteo Montaguti, over 33 minutes back, is the best-placed on GC, but Yates’ Mitchelton-Scott team are controlling the chasing pack.
Updated
And here’s what awaits at the end.
Current scene on the top of Monte Zoncolan - and those grey clouds look ominous. Nice to see the Tyrolean Mountain Guards putting in a feathered appearance, too. #Giro101 pic.twitter.com/0GSCqpBg8V
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) May 19, 2018
Here’s a look at the last time the Giro took this route.
Ok, here we go. Here’s a bit more on the stage from race director Mauro Vegni.
It’s a very hard stage, because even though the climbs are not high, they are steep. It’s the first real test of the final battle of this year’s Giro d’Italia. The Duron is only four kilometres long but climbs at an average of nine per cent, and the first kilometre has a section at 18 per cent. Ravascletto is seven kilometres long at seven per cent. The Zoncolan is 10 kilometres at 12 per cent, with several points at two per cent.
Updated
Preamble
These are red letter days in the Yates family. While Adam is 1 minutes 28 seconds off the lead in the Tour of California, twin brother Simon is bidding for history to become the first Briton to win the Giro and leads the race by 47 seconds; Chris Froome has been left puffing in the Bury boy’s wake. Those years of cycling through Ramsbottom, Greenmount and the like have served him well, but today is a very different test to semi-rural Lancashire. Monte Zoncolan, today’s final climb after four lesser but still tougher tests, is a blue riband Giro ascent, 10.km with an average gradient of 11.9% and pitches of 22%. And Yates admitted yesterday he is not familiar with its charms, let alone ridden it before. This is Italy’s equivalent of the Vuelta’s Angliru, that ridiculous twisting, turning ride through Asturias. The good news for Yates and the rest of the peloton is that this is not actually the toughest route to the top of Monte Zoncolan, which can be accessed via a couple of dust tracks, but is still a test to sort out the men from the boys, or in cycling terms, climbers from the flat-race specialists.
Yates and his Mitchelton-Scott teammates will have to see off the tactics of Team-Sunweb and Tom Dumoulin, defending champion whose usual approach is defensive hanging on grimly. And then there’s the rich talents of Thibaut Pinot, full of flair, except when it comes to the descents. And maybe, the Sky Train, currently working like First Great Western on a Tuesday morning, might try and pull Froome, 12th and 3 minutes 20 seconds back, into it. “For me, it’s about seeing how the legs are in the finale and take it from there,” he said on Friday.
And it will be that final climb that will shake up GC. Expect to see riders spat out the back as it begins, and many minutes lost.
Updated
